I'd made up my mind.
I was getting out of here. Screw the Alphas. Screw the she wolf they thought me to be. Screw the entire damn situation.
I'd made it this far, hidden in the underbrush like a frightened rabbit, but the time for playing it safe was over. I could slip away now, into the neutral zone, where the five Alphas and their territories couldn't touch me.
So, I counted.
One… two… three.
I was just about to make a break for it—just as my muscles tensed, my feet ready to spring—when I heard it. A sharp snap of a branch, and I froze like a deer caught in headlights.
Shit. I knew I wasn't alone.
I lifted my eyes, and the sight that met me made my stomach sink faster than a rock in water. There, looming in the shadow of the trees, was huge gray wolf.
Jake.
The goddamn gray wolf. The Alpha from the North.
I'd barely even heard him approach. If it wasn't for the sound of the branch breaking loud enough to alert me to his presence I wouldn't have known he was here. Hell, he was a ghost in the woods when he wanted to be. But there he was, staring straight at me, and I suddenly felt sick.
I had that sinking feeling in my gut, that gnawing suspicion that I'd been played.
This wasn't the first time Jake had been on my tail. No, he'd known where I was since the ravine. He'd known the whole time. And he'd kept it to himself. Played it cool. Let the other Alphas think I was still hiding somewhere else. He had kept tabs on me, keeping his discovery quiet. That way, the others didn't know. He didn't want anyone else sniffing around.
And now, with the other Alphas busy slaughtering rogues, now was the perfect time for him to finally close in.
I had a sickening feeling that he'd been letting me play this game. He'd been letting me think I had the upper hand when all along, he was just waiting for the right moment.
"please…" I whispered, my voice barely more than a breath.
His wolf didn't flinch. His glowing eyes locked onto mine, cool as a glacier, unbothered by the storm of thoughts crashing through my head. He started to walk toward me, his massive form gliding across the earth with calculated ease.
I couldn't even breathe properly. I was done for.
But as much as it burned my pride to admit it, there was a tiny, almost nonexistent shred of hope.
Maybe… maybe it's better if it's just one Alpha.
I didn't know if I could handle all five of them. But with Jake? I might stand a chance. I might be able to get away from just him, right? It's better than facing the whole five of them at once.
But then—shit—just before he reached my hiding place, he stopped.
Jake's wolf paused, ears twitching in alarm. His head snapped up, nostrils flaring. His eyes narrowed, and his massive frame tensed. His body language screamed that something was coming, something was wrong.
And then, as if by instinct, his wolf grabbed a broken branch and dragged it over to my hiding spot, carefully covering it, as if to shield me from view.
I had no idea what was going on, but at that moment, a new sound sliced through the air, making my blood run cold.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
The heavy sound of a lot of feet running.
I wasn't sure at first, but then it hit me. I recognized the pace. The vibe. Wolves were here.
Hundreds of them. And my gut told me it was rogues. For only rogues can defy the Five Alphas.
The noise grew louder, faster. A wave of movement, running straight toward Jake's territory. I could hear their voices, wild and impatient, their guttural growls and the sound of claws scraping against the ground.
Of course I could understand them. Who couldn't? Every wolf, whether alpha or rogue, could understand the speech of a shifted wolf. It was one of those universal truths. But rogues? Their language was raw, savage. And what I heard made my stomach churn.
"The she-wolf found is here. The intel said so. The one they've been hiding."
Fuck.
I swallowed hard, my throat dry as dust. So the rumors had traveled far and wide. Fast. And now the rogues, wild and bloodthirsty, were all heading for me, like a horde of wolves drawn to the scent of fresh prey.
I tried to move, to get up, but my limbs felt like they were frozen in place. I couldn't look away as the chaos started.
Jake wasn't going to let them have me, though.
No way.
His massive form exploded forward, charging straight into the first wave of rogues with brutal force. His claws tore into the first rogue that came within reach, throwing him across the clearing as if he were nothing more than a ragdoll. His growls were guttural, a sound that carried the weight of centuries of dominance, but even Jake wasn't enough to stop them all.
For every rogue he flung aside, three more appeared, jumping at him, snapping, biting.
It was overwhelming.
Jake's wolf was thrice the size of any regular wolf, the embodiment of strength and power. But no matter how much muscle he had, no matter how ferocious his attacks were, the rogues just kept coming. There were too many for him. The forest rang with howls, a chorus of chaos that made my skin crawl.
And as much as Jake tried to push them away, he couldn't get them to retreat. He couldn't hold them back.
I thought for a second that maybe it was over. He'd be overwhelmed, and the rogues would find me. They'd tear me apart, just like the stories said.
But then, just as I thought he was about to fall, another black wolf appeared, this one just as massive as Jake.
Desmond.
He came in like a storm, barreling through the rogues, dragging them away from Jake as if they were insects. His howl was fierce, and with his help, the tide of battle shifted. The two alphas pushed forward, reclaiming the ground they'd lost.
But it wasn't enough.
I could hear the other alphas now, their howls cutting through the madness as they joined the fray. The ground shook beneath me as they tore through the rogues, their combined strength making the earth tremble.
I held my breath, my pulse racing. The distraction, the fight—it was my chance. The smoke, the chaos, the bloodshed—it could cover my escape.
Should I leave now?
Would the rogues notice me? Would they smell me, see me? Would the distraction be enough for me to slip away, or would it just expose me to everyone else?
Jake knew where I was. That's the thing. Even if the rogues didn't, Jake did. And once the battle was over, once the rogues were dealt with, he'd come for me. I knew it. He'd hunt me down. He'd make me his prisoner. Again.
But this time, it wouldn't be easy.
Five Alphas. Five. I wouldn't get away from them twice.
The decision was weighing on me, suffocating me. My legs burned from crouching, my ankle still throbbed, but I was too afraid to make a move.
If I stayed hidden, I might just have a allow the Alphas to capture me again.
But if I left now, in the chaos, I could be free.
Could I outrun them? Could I outwit them again?
Or would I just be running into the claws of the rogues?
Either way, I was about to make the worst decision of my life.